Mexicali Blues Blog

Come enjoy some music in Maine this summer with Mexicali Blues at the following events that we are both sponsoring and vending at:

MOE on the Pier in Portland on both July 12th and 13th (Great North East Productions)

Inner Visions on the DRA Farm in Damariscotta on July 20th (For more information on the Damariscotta River Association click here)
(Mexicali will be a headline sponsor, but not vending at the DRA event)
Alive at 5 with TruMystic in Portland on July 31st

Up North Music Festival with Rat Dog and many more (click here for the entire line up) in Hiram Maine on August 8th, 9th and 10th (Up North)

With only 3 Days left in February, our annual sale draws to a close. Take advantage of the huge savings in the next three days and enjoy free shipping on orders totaling more than $50 at www.mexicaliblues.com.

The Mexicali Blues Traveler Jackets

Inspired by our travels and produced during one of our journeys through India.  The Mexicali Traveler comes in three styles all with a durable cotton shell and micro fleece lining.  Two styles with ornate trim and one in solid for a simple timeless look. Available in all sizes and colors in any of our location or in our online store.

Mexicali Blues Holiday Pictures in the Portland Stores

Click on any of the below shots for a closer look or Click on the above title for directions.

Come visit us this Holiday Season:

Merry Madness December 13 2007 (5-9 pm)

Portland also is offering Holiday Light Sculptures, Winter Window Walks, Holiday Tree Lighting, Shop for a Cause and free Horse-Drawn Wagon Rides. For more info visit the Portland Downtown Districts website or come visit our store in the heart of Portland’s Old Port. - Topher Mallory

Urgent : Our United States Postal Service Server malfunctioned from 11/22/07 - 11/26/07, the glitch has been repaired and our website is again properly quoting shipping without any surcharges!

Above is the apology that is atop our homepage for the next few days, in regards to a USPS glitch that plagued our early holiday web shoppers. For a small business like ours this is a minor speed bump in the growth of our site, but none the less something out of our hands that we do not want our customers to misunderstand as a sleazy attempt to inflate shipping prices. Our online shipping strategy will continue to be one of honesty without surcharges or hidden costs.  As our business online grows and we see better shipping rates due to increased volumes we will pass those immediately and directly to our consumers!

If this glitch affected your holiday shopping we apologize and as a thank you for your continued support thru these minor speed bumps we have lowered our minimum order size to qualify for free shipping.

Best wishes this holiday season from all of us at Mexicali Blues,

Topher Mallory

A long time in the works and with much excitement I am announcing Mexicali Blues commitment to exclusively using 100% recycled 80% consumer waste Store Bags and Boxes.

The 3 R’s are important to Mexicali Blues (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle), our line of store use shopping bags includes 3 sizes of now recycled bags and boxes allowing associates to reduce waste.  Although it is hard to reuse in our store packaging, we make up for it with our reuse in e-commerce orders.  Any items shipped out of our warehouse for our website utilize an element of reused material, from reused bubble wrap to old boxes.  Customers get a kick out of our disclaimer that they should not be surprised if items arrive on their store step in a shoe box or a computer box or a reused Mexicali box!
- Topher Mallory

After nearly 20 years of business in Maine, Mexicali Blues is dramatically increasing its retail operations with its grand opening of a 3000-square-foot store in the heart of Freeport, Maine. The new location is a natural progression for Mexicali Blues made possible by the success of its three other stores filled with Mexicali’s own clothing line, sterling silver jewelry collections, plantation-harvested teak furniture, interior décor and giftware. From the first store on Exchange St. it has experienced steady growth in its stores in Raymond and Newcastle and has a thriving ecommerce website www.mexicaliblues.com.

Each store is a truly fascinating shopping experience, and Freeport is no exception. Upon entering Mexicali, customers are greeted warmly by a knowledgeable and enthusiastic staff and find themselves transported to the international marketplaces from which Mexicali has responsibly imported its merchandise. Mexicali Blues’ Freeport location might be considered a boutique space, but it has more merchandise to offer than most large outlet stores in an effort to be just as inclusive as an artisan’s street-side kiosk in a far-off land. Owners Peter and Kim Erskine pride themselves upon importing with a mindset of having “a little bit of something for everyone.” By traveling directly to the markets and meeting with the artisans and families who create the merchandise in Central America or Asia, Mexicali Blues feels confident that every aspect of their business embraces responsibility. Nearly everything is a by-product of a buying trip, and each garment has a Mexicali Blues tag explaining responsible buying habits and identifying which garments are now certified fair trade. Because Mexicali Blues uses its direct-supply chain rather than middle men, they are not only able to pass savings on to the customer, but can provide truly unique lines that will not be found elsewhere.

Over the course of its 20 years in business, Mexicali has outgrown its original “hippie-shop” image with a corresponding youth clientele. With the addition of higher-end jewelry and clothing, which appeal to a wider range of customers, Mexicali Blues selected Freeport as the logical site for its newest store location. According to Erskine, “Not only will the new store increase profits, but also our branding efforts in terms of increased visibility and awareness of our own label and line of clothing, as well as our company logo.” Of course, Mexicali still has a great selection of tie-dyes and band t-shirts, but roughly 50% of their sales are from imported clothing, 80% of which are in women’s fashions. Mexicali Blues also has one of Maine’s largest collections of sterling silver gemstone jewelry, another large component of their sales. Each Mexicali store has a unique jewelry selection made up of over 150 gem varieties including tourmaline and lapis. The abundant assortment of eclectic gifts, jewelry, and apparel from around the world as well as the enthusiasm of their staff are what make Mexicali stand out among other import stores.

The Freeport location at 10 Bow St. will have a formal ribbon cutting at 4:30 pm on Friday August 24, 2007, and grand opening specials all weekend. Additionally, a Labor Day Outdoor Clearance Bonanza as well as a 25%-off, in-store sale will take place exclusively at the Freeport store.

Check out Mexicali Blues at http://www.mexicaliblues.com or in any of their four locations in Maine; Portland, Newcastle, Raymond or Freeport.

If you are curious after hearing our recent radio campaign where our Freeport location is look no further. We are proud to now be open at 10 Bow. St. across the street from Patagonia and Horny Toad, next door to J. Crew and Zales and just steps down the road from good old LL Bean. If you are more of a visual thinker checkout the pics scattered throughout our Blog or at mexicaliblues.com.

From the rubble of demolition we have evolved! Here are some snap shots of the early stages, including our first few sheets of Gridwall and our new Jewelry cases and checkout complete with Point of Sale systems.

If something had to get neglected while our newest location is pulled together, unfortunately it was the Blog. Every small business has to put its best foot forward and every now and again that means something does not get the attention it deserves.

Here is a new splash of pictures to let you know what progress has been made.

I promise as soon as the new location is up and running, our blog will be loaded with all sorts of Mexicali happenings and news! -Topher Mallory

Hoping to open in late May the exterior is already well underway! The first picture is where progress stands today and the second picture is a mock up of the exterior signage.

The interior is moving along at full clip, with a completely new layout for the space. Reorienting the space to allow more natural light for a better utilization of the space. Since our offices and warehouse are right around the corner, we are able to dedicate more square footage to retail space than prior tenants. Brand new dressing rooms, entryway, improved lighting, trim, carpet and stair accents, are just a few of the many changes. With only some cleanup and a short punch list remaining, our next round of pictures should have early merchandising well underway.

With demolition in full swing our journey to a new location in Freeport Maine is well underway! This week marks the start of what should be an action packed month with a hopeful opening date of May 22, 2007.

Every aspect of the project is being lined up, lighting, flooring, painting, displays, merchandising, promoting etc..

Keep an eye on the Blog for more snap shots of our progress.

With great excitement we are announcing our soon to be open Mexicali Blues Freeport location.

Months of research and work have gone into our location search and we invite you to follow the progress of our next location right here on our blog. Every week we will try and give you a snap shot of where our progress is and what stands between us and opening.

Right now it is an open canvas. We are in the process of planning our layout and lining up all the needed resources to make-over the space.

We just added a new product to the Website, Henna. For years we have thought about importing Henna and have made a few unsuccessful attempts with poor products that never hit the shelves because we were not happy with them.

This Henna however, makes the cut! It is of authentic quality and was put together and designed by Mexicali Blues to include the same products used traditionally in India.

Henna is actually a flowering plant and can be found in subtropical regions of Africa and southern Asia. As early as the Bronze Age in the eastern Mediterranean Henna was used as a decorative art primarily to celebrate, battle victories, births, birthdays, Zar, as well as weddings; when there was joy, there was henna. Today Henna use varies, it is still used in India in its traditional application, but it is also found at nearly every fair in America for fake tattooing! Do with it what you would like, but know that the Henna kits offered at Mexicali Blues are no fake, they are imported directly from India and put together by Mexicali Blues.

What Fair Trade means to us at Mexicali Blues.

From start to finish, every artisan, every crafts person, every manufacturer and every employee; that has a hand in the creation or sale of a garment advertised as Fair Trade earns a more than livable wage in a safe and healthy working environment.

Check out the first in stock item of a new line of Fair Trade products coming soon to Mexicali , Fair Trade Retro Shirt.

For more information on fair trade visit www.fairtradefederation.org.

What do these words mean to you, Fair Trade?

Our annual February sale is here, this is a no hassle, no catch, 25% off everything everywhere. Last year we extended the sale to our Online Store and this year with more items than ever online the sale is even easier to take advantage of. This does not change our approach to our online store, the merchandise has not changed all the same great selections are available at 25% off. As always we will be adding new stuff when we can, so keep your eyes peeled for new merchandise. If you would like the inside scoop first on when new items are hitting the stores or the web take advantage of our in house email newsletter by entering your email address in our safe subscribe box on the right side of the homepage mexicaliblues.com.

Namaste and Happy New Year,

Our annual physical inventory is taking place over the next couple days, which means temporary closings everywhere except online (the Newcastle Rte 1 location closed January 9-10, Raymond closed January 11, Portland closed January 16 and our Home Imports location on River Rd. in Newcastle will be closed January 18-19). We apologize for this temporary inconvenience and thank you for your patience. We wish there was another way to keep our Point of Sale systems accurate, but for now it is the only way to account for everything. This inventory accuracy leads to better buying habits and merchandise that reflects the taste of our loyal customers. -Topher Mallory